Good Idea
by Callisto-HK
Summary: -Tony: That's kinda touching, Gibbs. Remembering the day you hired me... Gibbs: Yeah, well, seemed like a good idea at the time.- Yeah, it did seem like a good idea; Tony had thought so, too! He wasn't so sure anymore! /Set in season 1. Rated T just to be on the safe side!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: OK, umm, hi?! Well, this story is kinda short; maybe three chapters, or so! The idea of it kept going through my head for a long time and then I wrote something down around two years ago. However, as it's obvious, I never got around to actually working on it. Hopefully, now I can post it regularly, so you guys can tell me what you think._**

**_Once again, huge thanks to all of you for sending me messages or leaving reviews, asking for more stories. I know I've said that I'm gonna add more stories to "TCAOF" and I will. But first, I had to do this one, since it's the last -Non-AU!- fiction I'll write for this (or probably any other) fandom! _**

**_It's a 'fix-it' sort of story! The first few lines, which are in italic, are actual lines from the show and they will tell you what the story is about._**

**_Hope you enjoy this one._**

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**. Good Idea .**

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_(S01-Ep05_ \- _The Curse)_

_Kate: I'm impressed._

_Tony: Didn't become an NCIS agent yesterday, Kate. As a matter of fact, tomorrow is..._

_Gibbs: It'll have been two years._

_Tony: That's kinda touching, Gibbs. Remembering the day you hired me._

_Gibbs: Yeah, well, seemed like a good idea at the time._

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"Yeah... Yeah, it did." Tony managed to utter before the hurt and sadness, that had suddenly gripped his heart, could affect his voice. Turning around, he resumed taking pictures, not noticing the frown on Gibbs' face at hearing those words or Ducky's look of concern and surprise.

He was already feeling unsure about staying any longer on Gibbs' team as the stupid insecurity he'd struggled with most of his life was getting pretty much overwhelming. He didn't expect coddling or any sort of special attention from his boss; the man was his boss, not his friend or his family, for crying out loud; but he couldn't deny that the thought that Gibbs might've actually regretted offering him a spot on his team hurt.

The past two years had been anything but easy; Gibbs was a bastard and that was when he was having a good, productive day. The amount of work and responsibility that he had to shoulder, had also become way more than the time he'd been a detective; but he didn't mind any of those things; he loved his job here and he was learning a lot from Gibbs; and his sour mood? Well, it was nothing Tony hadn't dealt with before, so he was pretty much immune to it. And he was aware that he was good at his job; he knew that, most of the times, he could make a connection between seemingly irrelevant events and find the missing link that'd break a case open and he enjoyed it; plus, he was glad that he was still doing something that was making a difference.

Still, from time to time, _more so recently_, he felt maybe it was time he moved to a new place again.

After what had happened between him and his old partner at BPD, he'd actually questioned his motives; thinking that maybe he'd made a mistake by becoming a cop; but here, at NCIS, he'd once again regained his faith in himself and in the system. That, however, didn't mean he'd want to stay there forever, and even though he was still learning new things, he didn't want to stay in a place where he wasn't needed anymore.

And now that Gibbs had found a new agent, one that he apparently liked and could actually tolerate; maybe his time here was up. Besides, if Gibbs was stating that hiring him had only _seemed_ like a good idea at the time, then the prospect of leaving suddenly wasn't all that painful.

And he hadn't set roots here yet; he didn't even have a fiancée anymore to think about before upping and leaving; he could easily apply for a job somewhere else and then start anew. Again!

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For the rest of the case, Tony tried to ignore the thoughts of leaving or having his expiration date coming up. He focused on the case and even ignored the new agent's jabs and snide remarks.

Agent Todd clearly thought he was an idiot, not worthy of the title he was carrying and she seemed to think that _she_ was a much better agent since she'd experienced being in the Secret Service.

Tony was really tempted to remind her that she'd pretty much been fired from her previous job, for not being competent and professional, and despite being an agent before coming to NCIS, she knew absolutely nothing about investigation techniques or working through a crime scene. Being a bodyguard for the president didn't automatically give you the knowledge and experience you needed in the field, as a cop or an agent. He kept his remarks to himself, though, realizing quickly that even though he'd be right to defend himself and even though all the things he wanted to tell her were true, _unlike what she was throwing at him_, still, and despite all those things; Gibbs would snap at _him _and tell _him_ to behave, because a) the new agent was a woman and having them around was one of Gibbs' weaknesses; he could never be fair when there was a woman in the equation; and b) she was the new toy and Gibbs liked new shiny things, despite pretending otherwise. And hey, he'd already voiced his thought on what he thought of Tony these days; he pretty much regretted hiring him; so why would Tony retort and put Todd back in her place when he was positive he'd lose this battle?

It was obvious that if she wasn't sure she had Gibbs backing her up, she would never dare uttering those things about him; he was her superior, after all, something she clearly didn't believe and didn't think he deserved.

Well, there were two things he could do at this point; he could become this serious agent; speaking from the position of power and _demand_ respect; or he could go to the director's office and ask for a transfer.

During the two years that he'd worked with Gibbs, new agents have come and gone, none of them sticking around for too long and after awhile no one was assigned to their team anymore; but he'd had no problem with other agents; even the ones like Blackadder. He was a people person and knew how to read them and how to play their games; Kate Todd seemed like a different thing, though; she was making it clear she thought she was superior to Tony because she was a woman and a former Secret Service agent while Tony was just an ex-cop, a man -which was something that Kate thought of as a disadvantage- and just a joke if Gibbs' remarks and their unfortunate first case were any indications. To tell the truth, Tony'd never thought she'd be joining their team or he would've acted differently during that first case; but what's done is done and he couldn't change it; so if he wanted to suddenly become serious now, it'd most probably backfire. Gibbs would put _him_ in his place and Kate would just have more reason to not take him seriously; who knew, he might even get fired.

So, that left him with the second option.

He'd go to Morrow, see if there were any other positions within the agency for him and if not, he'd hand in his resignation letter.

He liked challenge and rivalry; he liked good jokes and banter, but he sure as hell didn't like disrespect and dammit, he'd earned his position; had worked hard for it and wouldn't tolerate a know-nothing green agent come and act like he was this dumb jock just because he'd been a cop before joining NCIS.

He was proud of his years as a cop; he'd done a lot of good stuff then and had helped a lot of people; precisely why he'd joined the force in the first place. Which meant that letting her continue putting him down and undermining his abilities and his years as a cop would be like letting down all the cops, who put their lives at risk each and every day to make their country a safer place and while he could stay and prove she was wrong about the local cops and what they did, he knew with Gibbs as her backup, he'd either snap and get himself fired or he'd lose the game and give them more ammunition to use against him; because let's face it, Gibbs didn't think much of LEOs, either.

.

.

Gibbs was preoccupied with his own dilemmas. Tony's answer to his remark about hiring him had bothered Gibbs; even though he hadn't addressed it again. Gibbs liked to think that Tony was sure of his place on his team and wouldn't leave again just because his usual two years were up.

If he wanted to be honest with himself, the moment the words had left his months about him regretting hiring Tony in the first place, he'd wanted to headslap himself and take the words back; but he couldn't do that. If he hadn't been terrible at using the right words, at least two of his ex-wives wouldn't have left the way they had and half the people he used to call friends would be still his _friends_. Somehow, for some reasons, after he lost Shannon and Kelly, he had lost his ability to joke without it being snide and hurtful and he hadn't minded it much until recently.

Now, he'd seen the look of hurt in Tony's eyes, had heard the unnerving retort and noticed the changes in his SFA's behavior. Yes, he noticed how the younger man's jaw was uncharacteristically clenched most of the times; he noticed how he didn't say anything back to Todd even though it was clearly killing him to tolerate some of those jabs and he saw how cold his eyes had become.

He also noticed how the new agent was being harsh; he let it go because for one thing, he wanted to see how Tony would react, see if he'd say anything back and put her in her place since that would mean things were normal in Tony's world; and partly he'd remained quiet because well, he had a case to solve and he knew this was probably Agent Todd's way of fitting in and as wrong as it was, she was a woman, he didn't like snapping at them. So he let them be and figured they'd solve their problems on their own. They were both grownups.

Ducky had scolded him for thinking that way; he'd approached him about Tony, thinking that maybe they should do something to show him he now had a home with them and that they were glad he was there. The old ME had told him he'd made a mistake to utter those words about hiring Anthony, especially in front of their new agent and now she thought it was alright to be rude to the team's SFA because apparently he wasn't all that competent and worthy, based on Gibbs' earlier comment.

That had hurt to hear. Gibbs could admit it to himself that he didn't like to think he'd acted like he was giving Kate permission to undermine the SFA, but he couldn't do anything about it and he'd said so to Ducky, telling him that Tony knew how to take care of himself. Which was what that had led to the scolding from the Ducky! The older man had looked at him with disappointment and reminded him that just because one person knew how to take care of himself, that didn't mean they had to do it all the time when they had a team and friends, people who cared about him; and as the Team Leader, it was Gibbs' job to make sure _all_ his agents felt they were safe and secure and that he should give them all the same sort of support.

Gibbs, being Gibbs, told the ME that everything was fine and Kate would soon get tired and give up and then DiNozzo would strike back; and then he'd stormed out of the autopsy.

How was he to know that he'd been wrong? Seriously; how was he supposed to know he hadn't seen the whole picture and had misread the whole thing so terribly that things would soon get totally out of control?

Except; he should've known. He would've realized it if he hadn't refused to open his eyes or if he'd just listened to Ducky!

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**TBC ...**

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**A/N: So, how was this as a way of easing you into the main part of the story? Let me know what you think?**

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**No! I still own nothing but my own plots and of course my mistakes.**

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	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, faves and alerts; you're really the best.**_

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All the guest reviewers, Cokeheller, Pamsie 123, FRENCHIE, Ginger, earthdragon, Mar91, Hells Bells and as524, thanks a lot for your comments and your encouraging words. Since I couldn't respond to your reviews individually, I thought I could at least thank you all here.

(earthdragon, I totally agree with everything you said; you're so right.)

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Entering the Director's office, Gibbs frowned when he saw the pensive look on the man's face. It was early morning; too early for something to have already happened to put that look on Morrow's face and if something had happened; it must've been bad.

He'd just come back from his first coffee break and had found Kate at her desk, looking frustrated as she tried to go through some forms. Tony's desk was empty, but he hadn't paid much attention to it; the younger man could've gone to the head; or gone to get a coffee or even to see Abby in her lab. Before he had been able to sit down, his desk phone had rung and Morrow's secretary had informed him that the Director wanted to see him right away.

"What's wrong, Tom?"

Looking up, Morrow studied him for a few seconds before saying, "Why don't _you_ tell me?"

"_You_ wanted to see me." Gibbs pointed out.

"True." The other man nodded, "So, Gibbs; tell me, is everything alright with your team?"

"Yes."

"Has the new agent settled in OK yet?"

"She seems to be getting the new rules. Why? Something wrong with her performance review?"

"No. No. Not in your reviews, at least." He shook his head.

"Then in whose review?" Gibbs frowned; wondering if someone else was spying on his team.

The director ignored Gibbs' question. "In fact, your reviews seem to be portraying the situation a bit too perfectly."

"Dammit, Tom! What's this about?"

"It's about your _whole_ team and how you seem to be way too unaware of what's happening with them."

"You have someone spying on me and my team?"

"Spying? I don't need to. I'm in charge here; don't forget that!" The other man replied calmly. "And all SFAs are _supposed_ to give me their own reviews of their team's performance."

"DiNozzo been here nagging?" Gibbs growled.

"_Nagging_?" Morrow narrowed his eyes, showing his annoyance for the first time. "I see you have a lot of respect for your SFA." He shook his head. "This conversation is over; you can go back to your desk."

"What?"

"I've got what I was looking for. You can leave, now, Agent Gibbs. You're dismissed."

"Tom? What's this about?"

"Didn't you hear-"

"Dammit! I didn't mean that about DiNozzo! But whatever he's said, it's probably just him having a hard time dealing with a new teammate!"

"I just told you I _ordered_ him to give me his own review and you say he's nagging!" Morrow retorted firmly. "And after two years, you seem to think he's partial and judgmental and unable to perform his job without being fair. And apparently he can't even deal with having a new agent around. So what's the point of this discussion? Maybe it's for the best to get rid of him now that you've found yourself a new agent."

"What the hell?" Gibbs jumped to his feet angrily. "DiNozzo is my SFA; the best agent I've worked with. He's an asset to this agency!"

"That why you think so highly of him?"

"He-"

"And for your information; his review and report were very professional and seemed accurate."

"He _is_ a professional."

"Then why did you suggest he can't deal with having someone new on the team, which had apparently made him start _nagging_? He's never had a single problem with the previous agents assigned to your team, agents that _you_ couldn't stand for stupid reasons; why would he choose now to give a negative review; why would he choose now to develop intolerance towards new agents assigned to the team when it'd generally mean _his_ workload would be lightened?"

Gibbs remained silent; he hadn't meant to say those things and he knew he'd been wrong.

"So, maybe you do have a problem with your team. Maybe things are not as fine as you want me to think."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me why your new agent, a 'probationary agent', dares to show disrespect to his immediate superior and _you_ as the Team Lead fail to remind her of her place? I want you to tell me why your SFA thinks you wouldn't back him up if he, himself, said something about it? I want you to tell me why DiNozzo, _'the best agent you've ever worked with_', a valuable '_asset to the agency',_ as you put it; thinks it's time he moved on and comes to me with a transfer request, saying that if nothing is available or if I don't want to accept his request, he'd understand but he'd like me to accept his resignation?"

Gibbs had sunk back down into his chair at hearing those things. Tony thought he didn't have his back properly with the wrongness of what was going on! He couldn't believe it, but once he heard that the younger man had actually wanted out of his team, at any cost, even at the cost of leaving the whole agency, he felt like one of the biggest failure of all the time. How had he missed it? How had he not noticed that things were way worse than he'd imagined?

"I see it's come as a shock to you." Morrow commented, "So you really failed to notice the disrespect your newest agent shows your SFA." That was a statement, "And I'm not saying this just because I trust DiNozzo's judgment, since over the time, he's proved to be a fair person and has never put himself first. I say this because after I read his review, I kept a closer eye on things; watched your team and your new agent and saw how she didn't see anything wrong with telling DiNozzo off or acting like she's the one with experience and knowledge; the superior one! And I saw how she undermined him and his position and you always turned a blind eye to it. I wonder how DiNozzo didn't come to me sooner. Maybe he'd thought that either she'd get tired and after settling down, she'd tone it down or you'd put a stop to it. Doubt it's the latter; so he must've given up when she kept ignoring his orders and did what she wanted with no respect to him or his position; always reminding him that she's better than him; a profiler and not needing _his_ advice or directives."

Gibbs had the good grace of looking guilty and reproached. Once their first case with Kate Todd as their newest agent was closed and Tony didn't go anywhere, he'd thought that everything was actually alright; so he'd dismissed everything that had bothered him during that first case. He'd never thought that Tony'd leave after the second week.

"Where's he now?" He asked, suddenly sounding unsure.

"Sent him home. Where do you think he is?" Morrow rolled his eyes. "He refuses to work in a toxic environment like the one down there and I can't blame him."

"You transferring him?"

"Well, I sure as hell don't wanna lose him!" Morrow stated. "He still hasn't realized it, but the moment the word gets out that he's no longer with us, FBI would jump at the opportunity to snatch him and I'd be damned if I let that happen."

"Give me another chance."

"To do what?" Morrow asked with no actual interest in his voice, "Agent Todd is a woman and everyone who knows you also knows you can't put a woman in her place unless she's your ex-wife or there's been something going on between the two of you anyway and you're fed up with her. And Todd doesn't belong to either of those categories."

"That's not true!" Gibbs snapped.

"No? That why you've let Todd say whatever she likes in your presence, not turning a hair? And Ms. Sciuto, is a great Lab. Tech., we're lucky to have her, but you think what she does in that lab is normal for a laboratory of a Federal Agency? And don't even tell me you wouldn't have said something if our Lab. Tech. had been a man with odd tendencies and let me tell you, it's just because of _you_ that she has this much freedom."

"She's never done anything wrong." He was quick to defend her.

"Goddammit, Gibbs! It's not always about something wrong occurring! There's a code that should be followed; some rules! You should know what that means; shouldn't you? You've got all your rules and even though breaking most of them wouldn't mean something wrong has happened, you wouldn't stand for it. Someone breaks _your_ rules and you act like it's the end of the world!"

"That still doesn't prove anything. I have _no_ problem firing a female agent."

"No, you don't! But you like this one." The director pointed out. "And you feel guilty for having her pretty much fired from her previous post."

"It was her own wrongdoing that-"

"Don't give me the excuses you try to give yourself." Morrow cut him off. "That's not the point; the point is that Agent DiNozzo has had enough and since I don't wanna lose him, I can't accept his resignation."

"I can't either!" Gibbs growled.

"Well, then it's too bad you made it look like it was alright to ignore him and his position on the team."

"If you're so set out to remove him from my team, why did you call me here, Tom?" Gibbs asked warily.

"Because-" Morrow growled with frustration, wanting to actually throw something at his best agent, "I thought you'd regret it; that you might have an explanation. Hell, I wanted to see your reaction."

"I do regret it!" Gibbs hit the armrest of his chair with his open palm. "Didn't I just ask you to give me another chance?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Morrow shook his head, "_I_ am not the one who's pulling him out of your team. _He_ wants out. Which means, _I_ am not the one who can give you a second chance."

"You said you gave him what he wanted."

"Never said such a thing." Morrow pointed out. "I said I didn't want to lose him so I refused to accept his resignation."

"Then what?"

"I sent him home. Told him to take a few days off. Paid vacation. Asked him to give me some time to find the best place for him."

"That would be on my team."

"It _was_ until you screwed up. And it's a shame, because with his background, it'd be a waste of his skills anywhere else. Another year as the SFA of the MCRT and I'd offer him his own team; but it's too soon after just two years."

"He went home?"

"Yes."

"I'm gonna need a couple of days off."

"Go! Get out of here. I'll make sure Agent Todd is occupied; who knows; maybe we can still teach her how to be a good agent." Morrow smirked. "Not all of us are scared of putting a woman in her place."

"I'm not-"

"Just go, Gibbs!"

Growling, Gibbs turned to leave, but stopped when Morrow called him again.

"And, Gibbs, don't screw up again; because I actually have found him a place that he might like and I'll make sure that in a year, he'd get his own team."

That was enough of a threat, or incentive, for Gibbs to keep his temper in check. He quickly left the room; hoping against hope that he could actually fix his mistakes.

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**TBC ...**

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**A/N: Let me know what you think?**

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	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I'm really glad you've enjoyed the last chapter; it's great to know you share my thoughts on so many events. Thanks for your support.**_

_And Ginger, Patti Lipscomb, earthdragon, Hells Bells, Jen, Amy and the Guests; thank you for your comments. _

__Earthdragon; of course the BPD missed him; we even saw it on the show, which is an odd treat, considering how they wrote Tony's stories!  
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__And you guys are all right; Tony's background and knowledge helped the team solve the cases the most and I never understood why they acted like it was nothing important!__

___Hells Bells and Jen; I'm still not over the fact that, especially, the last two seasons of the show went that way and they never said anything about how the way Gibbs had treated Tony was wrong. I don't understand why they thought it was alright for Gibbs to treat people the way he did, or should I say, the way he DOES!___

___Amy, I hope you like how Tony stands up for himself here. I think if he'd done so in those very first episodes, he wouldn't have lost his confidence to do it later!___

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___I hope you like this chapter.___

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The forceful knock on the door spoke of the impatience of the person standing behind it; but it didn't indicate his uncertainty and that's why Tony was surprised when he opened the door.

He'd expected anger; knowing that once Gibbs realized that he hadn't shown up for work, even if he didn't know he'd left his team for good, he'd be truly pissed and he would come to his place to demand answers and then to fire him himself.

He hadn't expected to open the door to see unsure eyes staring back at him and he certainly hadn't expected to hear a quiet voice _asking_ him to let him come inside.

He'd told himself that morning; when'd left the Yard after his talk with Director Morrow; that he was done with Gibbs and his team and he wasn't going to let the older man bully him anymore. He'd even promised himself that if Gibbs showed up at his door, he'd slam it in his face. Yet, despite what he'd told himself, he stepped aside and let his former boss enter his apartment.

"You could've talked to me." Gibbs stated and immediately regretted starting their conversation with those words; but at least he hadn't spat them like he expected the younger man to actually know it.

Tony snorted nevertheless. "Gibbs-"

"No wait," Gibbs stopped him, because that hadn't been how he'd wanted to start. "I know why you didn't come to me first." There, that was better. "But you should've been able to talk to me." And before the younger man could ask him whose fault it was that he hadn't talked to him first before going to the director, he added, "And I'm saying '_should've'_ because that's how it goes with a good Team Leader and his SFA. I should've listened. _I_ should've noticed."

Tony tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. He really hadn't anticipated this reaction. "You've lost me." He finally confessed.

"Morrow told me about your request."

"Great." Tony growled.

"No, it's a good thing he did. He knows me and he knows losing you to another team wouldn't be like losing any other agents." He paused, "And I'm talking about those I've_ driven away_; I don't care about the incompetent idiots who I've gotten rid of."

"So what? He sent you here to change my mind?"

"He just dressed me down for screwing up as a Leader and told me he's gonna find you a good team because he doesn't want to lose you. _I_ asked for some time off so I could come here, myself." Gibbs confessed. "Give me another chance."

_Wow! _Tony took a step back and just stared at his boss.

Gibbs, taking his silence for refusal, continued with his reasoning, "I let you down; as my SFA and as my partner. Should've had your back."

"Kate's a woman." Tony shrugged, like that'd explain everything.

Gibbs almost winced; "Why does everyone think I can't put a woman in her place?"

Amusement filled Tony's eyes and he realized that Director Morrow must've really told Gibbs off and said some of the things Tony'd had in mind for the Lead Agent.

"It's not too late." Gibbs pointed out. "She still can learn."

Well, Tony supposed that was true, but could _Gibbs_ -

"and I'll _have_ your back." The older man insisted.

Shaking his head, Tony said, "Gibbs, you won't be on your own if I leave; Kate, despite her sharp tongue and her bigger than Grand Canyon ego, seems capable and responsible and she'll have your back. She's a profiler, so she's got the skill you need and-"

"Stop!" Gibbs cut him off, "She might take her responsibilities seriously, but I'm starting to doubt her ability as a profiler or she wouldn't have fallen for your masks."

Tony'd secretly questioned her profiling ability from the very first time he had met her.

"And she's not an investigator, so she doesn't have what I want in an agent."

"She'll learn."

"From me?" Gibbs sounded annoyed, because even he knew he wasn't a good teacher.

"I've learned from you." Tony pointed out.

"You were already a great investigator and observer when we met. You learn now because you know what to look for."

"She can still learn."

"Or she'll give up and leave when she realizes that I don't have time to explain things to her and I can't stand rookies who know nothing and pretend they do."

Tony smirked. "She already thinks she knows everything."

"You and I both know it's a fatal trait to have."

Tony barely hid a flinch. He didn't like Kate, but he didn't want her dead, either and that was playing dirty, so he glared at the older man.

Gibbs quickly got what Tony'd thought. "Not saying you should come back to teach her or to be her protector."

"What then? And please, like she'd listen to _anything_ I say?"

"I'm saying our clearance rate is the highest because of your skills and experience. I'm saying I'll have your back this time if you come back. You're my SFA for a reason and I won't let Todd forget it again and if she doesn't listen; well you clearly have both mine and the director's support to remind her who on this team is the SFA and who's just a Probie."

Sighing, Tony bit his lip, "Gibbs, you pretty much told me you regretted hiring me; why the hell do you care if I came back or not?" He looked the older man in the eye and added, "I know I'm not exactly easy to work with."

"What?" Gibbs looked genuinely baffled. "When did I ever say that?"

"Kate's first case with us? You telling me that hiring me seemed like a good idea two years ago?" Tony reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

Gibbs' jaw dropped. "I didn't mean that, DiNozzo! You must know that."

"I must, huh?! And why's that?"

"Because you know _me_." Gibbs growled. He couldn't understand why Tony was taking everything to heart all of a sudden.

"Exactly!"

"What?"

"Aren't you the one who always says I don't say things that I don't mean?"

Gibbs looked momentarily stupefied. "But I do joke!"

"That was a _joke_?" Tony wrinkled his nose; "In front of an agent who'd _just_ started to work with us and was already way too full of herself?"

Gibbs actually grimaced; "Yeah, wrong time."

"Just-" Tony shook his head.

"Could've chosen a better time."

"Telling me you regret hiring me and right when my usual two-year is up? Pretty sure it wouldn't have mattered what time you chose to throw it in my face, Gibbs, it couldn't be all a joke."

"But it was." The Team Lead protested; how could Tony not see it? He'd never regret hiring Tony. OK, maybe the younger man had a point and he shouldn't have joked about something like that at all; but he sure never meant anything by it. "I admit, I partly wanted to remind you that I'm in charge and-"

"Like I could forget?" Tony interrupted him, "or like I'd _want_ to forget? Did I do _anything_ to suggest that I was undermining your position? Was I acting like I wanted Todd to think you just carry a title and there's no actual chain of command?"

"No."

"The what? Why would you think I was-" Tony suddenly paused and then chuckled bitterly, "It wasn't a reminder for me; it was for Kate!"

Gibbs just stared at him.

"Was this that old trick when the boss fires an old employee in front of the newbie to show them who's in charge? Did you do that to scare her?"

"No! And I didn't fire you!"

"No; you're right. You just told me you regretted hiring me!" Tony threw his hands in the air, "That's like telling her that don't make me regret hiring _you_ too!"

Gibbs needed to actually think about it and boy, it seemed like he'd done just what Tony said; even though that hadn't been what he thought he was doing at that moment. That was it, though; now that Tony'd mentioned it, he could remember he'd thought that their new agent needed to know he was the boss and could fire her any moment he wanted, too and since she was a woman, he had to snap at the _man _on his team to teach the woman a lesson! Damn! Seemed like everyone was right about him not being able to show a woman her place!

Seeing the look of realization on his boss's face, Tony rolled his eyes, "Man, Boss, you've got some serious issues! You didn't even know that's what you were doing?"

"See, that's why I need you." Gibbs cleverly used even that in his own favor.

Closing his eyes for a second, Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Gibbs-"

"Look, Tony-" Gibbs said at the same time and since Tony was used to letting the older man say his part first, he let it happen this time, too.

"Morrow is still the director and pretty sure the next time, he won't give me a warning; he'll sign your transfer request so that you wouldn't think about resigning." Gibbs stated; "I don't want to lose you; come back and I promise not to break rule number 5 again. I could never regret hiring you, alright? Hiring you has been by far my best career decision."

Forgetting about what he was going to say, he studied Gibbs for some seconds and was quite amazed at how the older man stood there quietly and let his protégé see the sincerity in his eyes. This was more like the Gibbs Tony had come to work with; the one who'd followed him to Danny's house and had shown his complete support; the one who'd deviously walked him to HR's door in the NCIS building, persuading him to take his job offer.

Tony liked that Gibbs; he wasn't a jerk like the one he'd been for the last couple of weeks. Sure, Gibbs had occasionally been a true bastard during the two years Tony'd been working with him; but he'd never been like this and he'd always valued Tony's opinion and skills. So, if he was here, telling him he was aware of his mistake and willing to do better, Tony thought he could work with it. Besides, the older man had a point; Morrow would still be there and even if he wasn't, Tony could still leave later.

He clearly hadn't meant those words and two years of being a good boss would outweigh two weeks of sudden change in his personality.

"Fine."

Gibbs nodded. "Thank you."

Smiling, Tony tilted his head forward before shaking his head; bewildered. "You're still a devious man, Gibbs"

The smirk at the corner of Gibbs' mouth showed he could clearly remember what Tony was referring to. "Let's go have an early lunch."

"It's 12.30." Tony pointed to the clock on the wall with his head, "Not that early for a lunch."

"Then let's go for an on time lunch." Gibbs conceded.

"At the office?"

"Nope." Gibbs shook his head. "Morrow has plans for Todd and I'm not gonna go back too early to interrupt it. She can learn a thing or two in the week we take off."

"We've got a week off?" Tony was surprised.

"You did hear the director telling you to take some time off, right? Paid vacation."

"Well, yes; but I figured since you're here and since I'm coming back to the team-"

"We both have got some days. We haven't had that for awhile."

Tony thought for a second and shrugged, "Not that I mind working; but I could definitely use some rest."

"Then let's have some lunch and I'll meet you at work on Monday."

"Sounds good."

"Just call Morrow so that he knows I've made some progress before he signs off on your transfer request."

Tony grinned, "On it, Boss."

Gibbs grinned back, because, damn, it felt good making that kind of progress!

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**TBC ...**

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**A/N: Let me know what you think?**

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	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:Thank you all for your support. You guys are amazing.**_

_Dear Patti Lipscomb, Hells Bells, earthdragon, Mar91, Waverider 101 and Guests; thanks a lot for your comments and I'm really glad you've enjoyed my stories so far. It means a lot to me._

__Patti Lipscomb, that's a good idea for a story; thanks for sharing it with me; maybe one day I can write something like that.__

_And let's just not forget that this is happening during the very first days of the show, Gibbs hadn't been treated -by EVERYONE- as a flawless being who does nothing wrong; he could still learn new tricks!_

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The following Monday found both Tony and Gibbs in the bullpen, bright and early, looking rested and ready to handle whatever the job, _and _everything related to it, threw at them.

"So you finally decided that you work here, too, huh?" Kate grumbled first thing in the morning when he saw both Gibbs and Tony at their desks.

"Excuse me?" Tony frowned.

"You have a problem with how we do our jobs, Probationary Agent Todd?" Gibbs growled from his desk.

Gulping at the glare Gibbs was sending her, she quickly sat down. "It's just that... Well, how's that you two could take so many days off and I couldn't?"

"You literally _just_ started here." Tony pointed out.

"And?" She glared at him.

"And that means you haven't even earned a late morning yet; let alone vacation." Tony replied coldly, totally unperturbed by her glare.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are to tell me what-"

"He's your SFA!" Gibbs snapped; promptly shutting her up. "And your _superior_! And you heard him; you have to earn those days off."

"And just who do you think _you_ are to talk to me like that?" Tony's glare had nothing short of Gibbs'.

Kate had never seen him like that; she wasn't sure what had happened, but before the two other agents vanished last week, she could say whatever she wanted and no one would care what it was.

She had quickly realized that DiNozzo was nothing but a rich boy playing agent and she hated that type; besides, his way of acting the first time they'd met and worked together made her more than sure that she had to put him in his place or he'd think that she's like any of the women whom he'd no doubt seduced; it was clear that he was one of those guys who thought he was God's gift to women and again, she hated those men!

But now... Now Tony seemed different and so did Gibbs! What was it about him being the SFA? That was just a title; Gibbs seemed to think so, too, until last week. Why was he suddenly so mad at her and reminding her of Tony's position when it hadn't mattered last week?

"Please; you think I'm one of your bimbos that-" She stopped mid-sentence when she heard the loud crash of Gibbs' chair hitting the cabinet file behind it.

In an instant Gibbs was on his feet; aiming to give her a proper dressing-down that would be remembered by agents of the next generation; but he stopped when Tony shook his head at him. He watched as the younger man slowly stood up as well. The look in his eyes was one of calm and icy anger and as he walked towards Todd's desk, Gibbs silently realized that she would've been luckier if Tony'd actually let _him_ yell at her.

And judging by the look on her face, which had paled, she'd realized the same thing; yet, she still looked defiant, resisting to back off. Well, her mistake!

Approaching Kate's desk, Tony said, "I'm gonna say this only once; so you better listen well." His tone of voice was both menacing and authoritative; one he'd usually use just on suspects. "I _am_ your superior; I have been on this team longer than you and I have been in law enforcement since before you even finished university. Being the President's bodyguard doesn't-"

"I wasn't a bodyguard!" She protested; still not getting what a serious situation she was in.

"Protection detail, then?" Tony allowed and then like he hadn't been interrupted, he continued, "that does _not_ give you the knowledge and experience you need as an investigator or a Field Agent. I've earned my position and I don't tolerate disrespect anymore; I'm proud of having been a cop because that's given me something that you'd never learn at any academy; street smart. And it's given me opportunity to help people. So, you better put it through your head that I do _not_ stand this smug behavior of yours and if I see any sign of disrespect from you again, I'll report you and since it'd be the second time, you'll be off the team. Is that clear Agent Todd?"

"Second time? You can't-"

"I can and I will." Tony promised, sounding hard and unyielding. "Like I said, I already have once; or did you learn nothing from last week?"

Kate's jaw dropped as she realized what the past week had been about. The Director had forced her to work with other teams and they'd been giving her all sort of menial work; making her come to work at 7 and not letting her leave until half past 10 and not letting her be actually involved in any of the cases that other teams were working on. She'd tried to complain and ask what it was about, but Director Morrow had just said that she'd learn soon enough and for now she must do what she's ordered to or she could return her new shiny badge and leave!

Tony's voice stopped her train of thought. He was looking at her like he knew what she was thinking about. "I'll do it again because your behavior could get us hurt or killed and I haven't had Gibbs' six all these years for you to come and ruin everything."

Gibbs, feeling a bit amused, despite the whole thing, opened his mouth to say he could actually take care of himself, but Kate jumped in once again and he was unable to say something.

"I would never-"

"The order was clear!" Tony suddenly shouted and the amount of anger in his eyes struck her so hard that every single word of protest immediately died away on her lips. "I made it clear what's expected of you here and asked you whether or not you understood. The answer should be a simple yes or no!" Tony continued in a lower tone; "If it's a no, you know where the door is; if it's a yes; then it better be a real yes or again you'll be led to the door."

Suddenly another shadow fell over her desk and she looked away from Tony's scary glare to see the director standing there; with Gibbs coming to stand right beside him.

"You heard Agent DiNozzo." Director Morrow sounded firm; he'd previously sent her to work with other agents who were pretty demanding and way too serious and she'd thought she couldn't wait to go back to her own team; but now she realized that she'd been being punished and like DiNozzo had said, the director was aware of what'd happened between them before they left for their vacation.

How had she misinterpreted the dynamic of this team? How had she read Tony so wrong?

"Yes, Sir!" She gulped.

"And your answer?" Tony and his icy tone, again.

"Of course." She nodded, "I mean I'd never-" At Tony's glare, she backtracked, "I'm sorry for not showing you more respect." She sighed and added. "It won't happen again." Seemed like that if she wanted to keep her job and be part of this team, she had to start anew.

"It'd better not." Gibbs growled. "He's the only one who can teach you anything here and if I see you making stupid mistakes and not listening to his orders and directives, then you're off my team. I won't even let him take the fall for you or distract me. He tends to do that for newbies and junior agents."

"I understand."

"You'd better; because I have no patience for rookies; especially the smug ones." He growled and walked away.

Director Morrow looked very disappointed in her, as well, as he shook his head before leaving the bullpen. She winced when she realized she'd made a very terrible first impression on pretty much _everyone_ in her new workplace. She had messed up and she was going to have a really hard time fixing things.

Tony didn't even look at her before going to his desk, grabbing his weapon and following Gibbs when the older man called to him to say '_let's go get a coffee!'_

As her eyes followed them, she wished she'd done a better job at being a profiler; that her trying to fit in and her mistake in reading the people around her, hadn't cost her a valuable gift that apparently Tony'd been offering her, his friendship; something that now seemed to be off the table and she'd been the one to throw it away.

If Tony could be so harsh and firm and if both Gibbs and the director had his back, supporting his decisions, then she'd clearly read him wrong; she'd fallen for his masks and maybe if she hadn't acted so smugly, he wouldn't have let her see this side of him.

Now she could only wish that she'd earn their trust and friendship back one day and that Tony wouldn't always see him as this incompetent, arrogant rookie. But then again, maybe it was a good thing that she'd seen this side of Tony, too; because if she was honest with herself, she had too much confidence in her abilities and this had been a wake-up call; Tony'd just shown her that she'd read him wrong and he was way more than what he was showing the world; she could learn from it and not let it happen again with other people, especially their suspects. And she'd finally realized, maybe a little belatedly, that Tony could teach her a lot; she had to only hope that he'd actually give her a chance to prove herself capable and worthy.

...

Inside the elevator, Gibbs threw a look at his SFA and Tony could see in his eyes that the older man was proud of him; aloud, though, the Team Leader said, "What you just did might very well save her life down the road! Now she's open to actually learning."

Tony rolled his shoulders forward and backward a couple of times to let go of the tension that had built up and nodded his head. "Yeah, we wouldn't want her to trust the wrong person or think of us as the enemy because she thinks she knows everything."

Grunting, Gibbs shook his head. A couple of seconds later he said, "I told you I could put a woman in her place, too!"

Tony could do nothing but laugh out loud at that. "Nice job, Boss. I'm very proud of you."

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**That's it!**

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**A/N: So, here was the final chapter; like I said, a very short story! Hope you liked how things were wrapped up.**

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**I still own nothing but my own plots and of course my mistakes.**

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